William richardson



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WILLIAM RICHARDSON, OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.

Letters Patent ly'o. 76,248, dated March 31, 1868.

' IMPROVEMENT Ihl LIMB AND BASKET-HOLDER.

TO ALL WHOM IT MAY CONOERN:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM RICHARDSON, of Baltimore, in the county ofBaltimore, and State of Maryland, have invented a new and improved Limband Basket-Holder; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full,clear, a'fvnd exact description of the same, reference being had to theaccompanying drawing, forming part of th'is specification.

The drawing represents a perspective view of my invention.

This device is a cheap and convenient instrument, by which thefruit-gatherer can draw a distant limb near to him, and confine it inthat position till he has secured its fruit. When not thus in use, itcan be employed to hold the fruit-basket. y v

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in thedrawing.

I n the drawing, A represents a round stati', several feet in length,terminating at one end in a knob, a, and. at the other in a fixed hook,H, the point of which projects downward towards the knob a. dat,sharpcdged ring, R, of iron or other suitable material, slides looselyalong the stall, between the knob a andthe hook H. AFixed to 'th'e'r'ngR, and sidin'gupand down with it, is another hook, Hbent in theeppositedirection. This constitutes the whole instrument. L

To operate thisinstrument, the harvester takes hold of' the knob a, and,hooking the hoek H over the distant limb whose fruit is sought, drawsthat limb conveniently near to himself, where he fastens it by slidingthe other hook, H', along on the stati' to the proper point, andcatching it over some stout'limb. No fastening is required, .as theloose ring R clamps itself` firmly to the staff whenever force isappli-ed to the hooks in opposite directions, and the kspring of thebent limb supplies such force. The instrument can be detached from thelimbf even more easily than ,it is attached; 1

This instrument can be used equally aswell for holding the fruit-basket.It is only necessary to hang it to some limb by means of the hook'I-I,and .hang the basket upon the sliding hook H', which can be adjusted toany height, and on any side of the staff', and can be shifted from oneheight to anothervin the progress of the work. The instrument itself canbe shifted from one limb to another without removing the basket.

.The whole device is extremly simple, cheap, and usefuh enabling-theoperator to gather his fruit without much changing of his position,and'to use both hands for picking the fruit, where he would otherwise bcconined to one. It thus decreases thc risk of falling, and breaking andinjuring of the tree by venturing on the weak limbs, while it enablesthe workman to gather his fruit much more rapidly than he could withoutit.

I do not intend to confine myself` to a round stati` alone, but mayuse`a four-sided or polyhedral stati' if it proves to be cheaper. I mayalso use a fixed hoek, likethe hook H', at any point on the steif. I donot show such hook in my drawing, for the reason that the sliding hookH', when resting-upon the knob a, becomes, .to all intents and purposes,a-xed hook, such as I refer to, and supersedes the necessity of anyother. But if another should prove convenient inpracticc, I wish toreserve the right to addit at any point on the staff'.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desirel tosecure by `Letters Patent, is-

The instrument aboveldescribed, consisting of the staff:` A, fixed hookH, sliding hook H', and the knob a,

or its equivalent, all the parts being constructed and arrangedsubstantially in the manner and for the purpose s ccied. d

p` To the above specification of my improvement I have signed my hand,this third day of September, 1867.

WM. RICHARDSON,

Witnesses:

JAMES H. GRIDLEY, CHARLES A. PET'TIT.

